Cartridge-shell-gaging machine.



' No. r708,|22.. Patented sept. 2, |902.

P. BUTLER. l 'A CARTRIDGE 'SHELL GGING MACHINE.

3 Shees--Sheet (N0 Model.)

"Il m" I l I l mll Nu. 708,I23. Patented Sept. -2, |902.

P.; BUTLER.

CARTRIDGE SI'ELI G-AGING MACHINE.

' (App'xi'cmon med Api. 2e, '1897.1

(no- Model.)

a' sheen-sheet 2.

Tg4: Nanms persas mgamno. wAsHmaau, mfc.

No. 708423. 1 Patented' sept. |902.,

l V l P BUTLER.

CARTRIDGE SHELL GAGING MACHINE.

' (`App1ication med Apr. 2e, 1897.)

Guo Model.)

3 Sheet's-Sheet 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL BUTLER, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARTRIDGE-SHELL- GAGING MACHINE.

.SPECIFIcATIoN forming part of Letters'. 'Patent No. 708,123, datedseptember 2, 1902. Application filed April S6, 1897. Serial No. 635,902.(No model.)

T0 all wwwt it Wawy concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL BUTLER, of Lowell, county of Middlesex, Stateof Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Cartridge-Shell-Gaging Machines, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is aj specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a gaging or asserting machine forcartridge-shells or analogous articles, and is adapted to operate uponsuch articles when presented to it to separate and assort them accordingto the shape or dimensions thereof or of a certain part thereof and tocollect together those which are of a given predetermined size or shapeapart from-those which differ therefrom, and the operation is capable ofbeing extended to an indefinite number of classes or sizes, the articlesof each class being collected together and separated from the arti-Vcles of all other classes.

The machine embodying the present invention is especially intended foruse with cartridge-shells, the shape and dimensions of which must be ofa certain standard in order Y to fit the breech-chambers of the gunswith which they are intended to be used, and the object of the machinevis to separate those shells in which a certain part is of a standard vsize and shape from those in which the same part differs in any respectfrom the standard, the machine being adapted to collect together thestandard shells in one place and also, preferably, to separate andclassify those which differ from the standard and collect those of eachclass by themselves. f

In another application, filed April 2G, 1897, Serial No. 633,901, I haveshown and described a gaging-machine having a similar objectviz., thatofV gaging and assorting cartridgeshells-the said machine operating toassort said shells according to the thickness of the lianges thereof-4'.e., to separate and collect those having flanges of standard thicknessfrom those having flan ges of thickness greater or less than standard.The machine of the present invention embodies some of the combinationsof said prior machine; and the present invention consists, mainly, inappliances for assortin g the shells according to the diameter of theflanged ends thereof to separate those which are not of standarddiameter from those which are; and it further consists in novel feedmechanism and in various combinations that will be hereinafterspecified.

' The machine embodying the present invention is provided with agage-opening adapted -to allow a shell having a iiange of standarddiameter to pass through when presented to it endwise, but to exclude ashell in which the diameter of the vflange is greater than Vstandard andarrest the said shell at the opening of said passage. Thus a shell ofstandard size or smaller than standard size properly presented to saidopening and operated upon by suitable instru mentalities, as will bedescribed, will pass through the same, and a second gage-passage isprovided to which are presented, shells which have passed through vtheirst gage-passage, and the said second gage-passage is adapted to arresta shell of standard size, but to allow one of less than standard size topass through it. Thus shells l presented to the machine will, if largerthan standard, be arrested at the mouth of the first gage-passage, if ofVstandard size will pass vthrough and beyond said rst gage-passage andbe arrested at the mouthof the second,

and if of less than standard size will pass through both gage-passagesto still a different position, so that the shells will thus be sepairated into three classes,it being obvious, moreover, that by increasingthe number of gagepassages the asserting operation might be carried toan indefinite number of classifications. The shells thus presented tothe gage-passages are operated upon by a feeler having a yieldingactuator, as a spring or gravitation, said feeler tending to move themtoward said gagepassages, but adapted to be stopped if resistance isoffered to its movement, so that 'as each is presented to the foremostgageopening it will be engaged by said feeler, which follows said shelluntil it is stopped `by.one or the other of the gage-passages or passedcompletely through both and controls subsequent operations of themachine in accordance with the position in which it is thus stopped.Ejecting devices are also provided, there being a separate ejectingdevice at each IOO position which can be assumed bya shell Y adapted tooperate after the shell has been positioned by the gages, and saidejecting devices are so arranged that each one operates to eject a shellso that it will fall in a different position from those ejected by theother devices.

While the operation of the machine to gage and assort the shells asabove described is not dependent upon any particular means forpresenting the shells thereto, a device for automatically feeding thesaid shells from a promiscuous mass is preferably provided, the genericfeatures of the feeding device herein shown being similar to those ofthe feeding device described in my other application above named, saiddevice, however, having certain novel features which form part of thepresent invention.

Figure l is an elevation of a machine embodying the present invention,showing what for convenience will be called the righthand side of themachine; Fig. 2, a similar elevation on a plane at right angles to Fig.l-tl e., a front elevation; Fig. 3, au elevation of the left-hand side,part of the framework being broken away to better show the operatingmechanism; Fig. 4, an enlarged horizontal sectional detail on line 0:4of Fig. 3 looking down, showing the shell-ca rriage in plan; Fig. 5, asimilar horizontal sectional detail on the line mi, Fig. 3; Fig. G, anenlarged detail showing the gaging and ejecting devices in elevationwith portions ot' the framework in section; Fig. 7, a view showing alongitudinal section through the axis of the gage passages; Fig. 8, anenlarged front elevation of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 6;Fig. 9, a top plan View of the overturning device forming part of thefeed mechanism, the parts of the machine above and below said device notbeing shown; Fig. 10, a side elevation of the same, and Figs. 1l and 12details which will he hereinafter referred to.

In the operation of the machine the shells are presented one by one,with the head or anged end down, at the opening of a gagepassage a,herein shown as a circular' opening in a disk a2, as best shown in Fig.7, secured in any suitable way to a bracket A3, supported on abase-plate A2at the top of the post A. As herein shown, the saidgage-disk is secured to said bracket by means of a metal strap a3, Fig.2, extending around the periphery of the gage-disk and fastened to thebracket by a bolt a* and nut a5. The said gage-passage a issubstantially equal in size to the size of the flanged end of thestandard shell, so that such a shelllwhen presented thereto may bepassed through said passage, while if it is larger than standard size itwill be stopped at the mouth of the same, where it will remain duringone complete operation of the machine. If, however, the shell is ofstandard size and capable of passing through said gage-passage a, itwill be presented to a similar gage-passage b in line with passage a,the said passage b being somewhat smaller than the flanged end of astandard shell, so that a standard shell will be stopped at the mouth ofsaid passage, while one smaller than the standard will pass through thesame to the level of the base-plate A2. The passage b is formed in adisk b2, secured by metal strap b3, bolt b4, and nut b5 to the bracketa3, being similar in these respects to the gage-passage a abovedescribed. In orderto prevent the shells thus presented to thegage-passages from falling through the same by gravity, which mightresult in their not being properly positioned with relation to the saidpassages, a reciprocating support or pedestal d is shown asbeinglongitudinally movable through said gagepassages,themovementthereof being so timed with relation to the other parts of themachine that the said pedestal stands, when a shell is presented, in theposition shown in Fig. '7, so as to support the said shell at the mouthof the gage-passage a. After the shell is thus presented the saidpedestal d moves downward and the shell supported thereon, if smallenough to pass through either or both gage-passages, follows the saidpedestal, there being also provided a follower or feeler (Z2, movablewith the said pedestal, the said feeler having a tapered end adapted toenter the mouth of the shell and center the same with relation to thegage-passage and insure its movement through the said gage-passage,provided it is of the proper size to pass through. The saidreciprocating pedestal is positively actuated in its upward movement ormovement toward the mouth of the gage-passage a by means of a cam d3,carried on the main shaft B of the machine, its downward movement,however, being non-positive and due, for example, to gravitation,assisted, if necessary, by the force of a spring, herein shown as anelastic band d, connected at one end to an arm d5, secured to the postA, and at its opposite end to an arm d6, with which the reciprocatingpedestal (Z is connected.

The pedestal and feeler are preferably mounted, respectively, upon thearm d6 and a similar arm d?, both connected to a rod d8, having abearing in the base-plate A2, which thus forms a guide for the saidpedestal and follower, which move in unison.' Thus when a shell ispresented at the mouth of the passage a it is supported upon the saidpedestal, while if the said shell is not properly centered, andtherefore does not follow the pedestal by gravity, it is engaged by thefeeler d2, which thus exerts a slight pressure upon the shell to pressitdowuward, but is supported thereby if the flange is too large toreadily enter the gage-passage. The feeler and pedestal are thussupported by the shell during the further operation of the machine untilagain lifted by the cam to their normal position,

thus leaving the shell in position determined by the size of its flangewith relation to the size of the gage-passages. The said pedestal andfeeler also coperate with ejecting devices for shells which stop at themouths of IIO either of the passages a and b, as will be hereinafterdescribed. l

VThe shells are presented to the gage-pas sage a bypmeans of areciprocating carriage e, having at one end a pair of jaws e2, adaptedto move to and from the gage-opening a, the shells being fed to the saidcarriage when in one position, as from a chutef, and moved forwardtherebyto a position over the opening ct, the movement of the carriagebeing so timed with relation to the movement of the pedestal d as topresent a shell over the openingd when the said pedestal is at itshighest position.

To cause the reciprocating movement of the carriage e, the said carriageis connected by a projection-e3 with a-lever-arm e4, having an elongatedopening e5, into which the said projection e3 extends, said arm e4 beingmounted upon a rock-shaft e6, Fig. 3, having a bearing A4 on thebase-plate A?. The said rock-shaft -in turn is connected by a leverarme7 and pitman e8 to a vwrist-pin on a disk e9 on the main shaft B, whichis rotated, as by a pulley B2, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l,thus causing at each complete rotation of the pulley B2 a completeforward-andbackward movement of the carriagee. The said carriage maybemounted or supported in any suitable way, being herein shown astraveling in a track or guideway A5, Fig. 4,'

formed inthe standard A6, vwhich is mounted upon the base-.plate A2.

After the shells vhave been presented to the gage-passage and areproperly positioned with relation thereto according to the sizes oftheir lianges it is necessary that they should be ejected to make wayfor the next operation of the machine, the machine being provided with aseparate chute or receptacle for shells ejected from each of saidpositions.

In order to cooperate properly with the other instrumentalities whichoperate to position the shell presented to the machine, adifferentejecting device is arranged to operatev at each position which may beassumed -by a shell, and the said ejecting devices will be described inorder and their relation to the other portions ofthe machineindividually pointed out, itl being understood, however, that the`invention isnot limited to thespecific construction shown and described,since modifications might obviously be made without departing from theinvention.

Assuming first that a shell presented at the gage-opening a is ofgreater than standard size, so that it will stop at the mouth of saidopening, it will be engaged by the-downward movement of the feeler d2,the said feeler entering the mouth of .the shell and holding it inposition while the carriage recedes, and in order that the said shellmay be ejected at the proper time or before another shell is presentedan ejector cw, Fig. 4, is provided, consisting of-a yielding gate orspringextending across the mouth of the jawse2 in the said carriage infront of a shell contained in the vthe plunger.

said jaws, the said springyieldingl to the shell held by the feeler d2during the backward movement of the carriage, but operating topush'thesaid shell before it as the carriage moves forward. As has beenstated,

the feeler (Pis so timed with relation tothe movement of the carriagethat 'it will be in its uppermost position substantially at the timewhen the said carriage reaches its extreme forward position, so that theshell will no longer be engaged by the said feeler and will be ejectedinto a suitable chute L and directed thereby to a receptacle, while theshell which has been received from the feeding device at the previousArearward move'- ment of the carriage is then presented to thegage-opening a.

f The camds, as shown in Figs. l and 3, has a steep incline toward therear wit'hrelation to its direction of rotation, and the cam is'sorelated to the carriage-actuating means'that the said steep inclinecomes under the'frame bearing the pedestal and follower just as thecarriage reaches its Aextreme forward position. The follower d2 thusfalls suddenly and engages the shell before the backward movement of thecarriage begins, preventing the shell from-bein g withdrawn thereby andforcing the ejector-spring el to yieldbefore it in the backward movementof the carriage.

To eject standard shells or those which pass through the passage n, andstand at the mouth of the passage b, a spring-plunger g is utilized,said plungerbeing shown as carried by` a slide g2, longitudinallymovable'in a guideway g3,-Fig.v 7 in the bracket A3 and actuated in adirection to eject the shell by a spring g4, connected at one end tosaid bracket and at the opposite end to said spring-plunger. Thesaid-plunger is retained in its guideway g3 in any suitable way, as by apin g5, extending into a slot gw, Fig. 5, in the guide portion of Thesaid plunger co'perates IOO IOS

IIO

with the Vpedestal d, having any inclined surv` face g, adapted to beengaged during the upward movement of said pedestal, which car- -riesity back to a position readyto operate, or, in other words, sets it, andin order to retain it set an arm or holder QT, Fig. 5, mounted on apivot g8, is moved to a position in front of the said plungerg, themovement of said arm Q7 being provided for in any suitable way, as by-adouble cam 99, cooperating with the arm'e4, `which actuates the carriagee. The 'saidholder also constitutes a guide for the' shells which passthrough the passage @,'the end glo thereof being, `as shown, convex orsemicylindrical, embracing the shell and preventing it from falling out;

As shown in Fig. 5, the arm g7 is thrown into engagement with theplunger g by the engagement ofthe arm e4 with the cam-surface gm,whichloccurs just before the carriage reaches' its forward position,and'V remains by the engagement of the arm e4 with the there untilactuated in the opposite direction i when the carriage e has nearlyreached its extreme backward position. As the carriage recedcs,therefore, and the pedestal d travels downward the plunger g will beretained set by the arm gl, and the shell following, if of standardsize, will be stopped at the mouth of the opening l), while the feelerd2, extending into the said shell, will retain it against lateraldisplacement until said feeler is removed by the upward movement causedby its actuating-cam, as above described. Thus when the carriage hasreached or nearly reached its extreme rear position the arm 97 will beremoved from the path of the plunger g, the said plunger thus being heldby the shell itself, which in turn is held by the feeler d2, and in thefurther movement of the machine the said feeler will be raised by itsactuating-cam until it passes out of the mouth of the shell, there thenbeing nothing to retain the plungerg in its said position, so that itwill move sharply forward in response to the spring g11 and eject theshell into the chute S, Fig. l, said chute being preferably providedwith a guard S2 near its upper end to prevent the shell from beingthrown be yond the pathway aorded thereby. A shell which is smaller thanstandard will pass completely through the passages tt and b, remainingon the pedestal d until the latter reaches its lowermost position, inwhich the end or supporting,r portion thereof is substantially on alevel with the base-plate A2. The shape of the actuating-cam d3 is suchthat the pedestal d will dwell for an instant in its lowermost position,and during this dwell the shell standing below the passage b will bestruck a blow by an ejector-linger h, pivoted at h2, Figs. 2 and 3, uponthe post A. To actuate the said ejector-finger h at the proper time, aspring-arm h3 is shown as carried by the disk e9 on the main shaft B andadapted during the rotation of said shaft to engage the projection h4from the lower end of the ejector-finger 7L, so as to rock the same onits pivot, causing the upper end thereof to move to the right (see Fig.3) and eject the shell into the chute T. The projection 7i,4 from thesaid ejector-nger and the portion of the pedestal-carrier which engageswith the cam d3, herein shown as a cam-roll dio, mounted on a projection(131 from the arm d6, are on the same side of the axis of rotation ofthe main shaft B, while the engaging portions of the cam 07,3 andspring-arm 71,3, respectively, are on the opposite sides of said shaft,so that the arm h3 will operate the ejector h when the pedestal d is inits lowermost position. Thus a shell larger than standard will beretained at the mouth of the gage-passage a and laterally supported bythe feeler cl2 during the rearward movement of the carriage e andejected by the springewduring the forward movement of the carriage,which is accomplished by an upward movement of the pedestal and feeler,so that the shell is no longer laterally retained thereby. A shell ofstandard size will be retained at the opening of the passage Z1, whereit is laterally supported by the feeler d2, until the latter is actuatedin an upward direction by its actuating-cam d3, and said shell will beejected by the spring-plunger g as soon as released by the upwardmovement of the follower dg, the retaining-arm g7 for said plungerhaving in the meanwhile been removed from the path thereof by theengagement of the arm e4 with the cam-surface 992. A shell which issmaller than standard will remain on the surface of the pedestal d untilsaid pedestal reaches its lowermost position, at which time theejector-arm 71, will be actuated, striking and ejecting the said shell.

As has been previously stated, the shells are fed to the reciprocatingcarriage c through a chutef, down which the shells are fed in a colu mnand supported upon the upper surface of the carriage until the openingbetween the jaws e2 comes under the said chute, when the lowermost shellwill drop between the said jaws and be pushed forward by the forwardmovement of the said carriage. It is necessary, however, for the properoperation of the machine that the shell should be presented to thecarrier head down, and while it is obvious that the shells might be fedin any suitable way to the said chute or directly to the carrier,provided the shells were supplied by said chute or introduced into thecarrier with the flanged end down, it is preferable to provide feedingmechanism which shall be entirely automatic and in which the shells maybe fed from a promiscuous mass in a hopper and automatically arranged inuniform position before reaching the carrier e, no matter what positionthey may be in when they first fall into the receiver. For this purposethe feed mechanism also comprises a second chute f2, adapted to receiveshells from the hopper f3, and the shells coming through said chute f2are supported upon the upper surface of a traveling receiversuch as therotating diskf4, having along its periphery a series of openings f5,each adapted to receive a shell as it passes under the end of the chutef2. Underneath the said disk is a support for the shells,shown as astationary platformf,upon which the shells fed to the openings f5 restand along which they travel in the receiver f4. Thus a shell passing outfrom the chute f2 falls into one of the openings f5 and is carried alongin the direction of the arrow, Fig. 9, until it reaches the mouth of thechutej", which extends upward into or directly beneath an opening in thesupport or stationary platform f, the mouth of the said chute beingindicated atfl. As soon as the shells arrive over the said mouth f7 inthe rotation of the diskf4 they will drop down into the same and be fedthrough the chutefto the reciprocating carriage e. In order that shellspresented to the said rotating disk wrong end up-'. c., with theirmouths down-may beinverted so that they will be presented to the chute fhead downward, as is necessary, the

IOO

IIO

stationary platform]c6 is provided with an engaging portion or cam, thenature of which is such as to engage the smaller or mouth end of ashell, but to allow the larger or flanged end of the shell to passwithout beingengaged, such cam being herein shown as the inner edge f8of a groove in the surface of the support, the said1 edge extending froma point behind the path of travel of a shell when carried forward by therotating disk to a point near the periphery of the stationary platform.

The said groove is somewhat narrower than the diameter of the flangedend of the shell, and when the said shell is presented flange down itwill travel across the said groove, owing to the larger diameter of theflanged end, which will reach across the groove and not be engaged orcaught by the edge thereof. It is not, however, essential that the saidiianged end should absolutely straddle the groove, since the saidflanged end is heavier than the open end, so that there is but littletendency for the shell to tip, and the hanged end can project across thegroove for a considerable distance without affecting the stability ofthe shell. Furthermore, the rounded edge of the flanged end will notreadily catch the cam, so that a shell presented anged end down willnever betipped from its vertical position. If, on the vother hand, theshell is presented with the open end down, it is obvious that -in viewof the fact that the closed or flanged end is heavier a very slightlateral movement of the open end, upon which the shell is supported,will cause the shell totip. As the open end of the shell travels acrossthe groove it will naturally tip slightly into the groove, (beingtopheavy and a very slight movement will cause the sharp edge to catchthe cam f8, which will cause a lateral movement of the said lower endtoward the periphery of the carrier, which movement, however, will notbe imparted to the shell as a whole, since the said shell has alreadyslightly left a Vertical position. The lower end of theshell,therefore,will be pushed outward, while the flanged end settlesdown into the recess, and the shell will soon fall on its side, asindicated in dotted lines, Fig. 9. In order to prevent the shell thustipped over from passing endwise out of the opening f5, the side of saidopening toward the periphery of the disk through which the body of theshell projects when tipped is made somewhat narrower than the mainportion of the opening, the distanceacross the said portion being lessthan the diameter of the flange of the shell. The shell thus tippeddownward will be carried along on its side with its outer end projectingout beyond the periphery of the disk f4, the said outer end beingengaged during the further movement of the said disk by an inclinedsurface or cam fg, rising from the surface of the stationary platform,-so that the outer end of the shell will ride up the said inclined`surface until the shell is nally tipped up upon its closed or flangedend.

Thus each opening as it passes the chutef2 receives a shell, and thesaid shells if presented with their closed ends down are carried forwardin that position and if presented with their openends down are invertedby the engaging portion f8 and cam ff, so that beyond the cam 7"9 eachrecess f5 contains a shell properly righted or with the flanged enddown, and said shells are dropped consecutively intothe chute f as theopenings f5 pass the mouth thereof. It is obvious so far as relates tothis feature of the invention that other articles might be fed andarranged by substantially the same devices-as are herein shown, it beingnecessary only that the opposite ends ofeach article should havedifferent characteristics. In other words, any article so shaped thatone end thereof will be engaged by the portion f8, which practicallyconstitute a cam, while the other end will not be engaged thereby,can beoperated upon by this mechanism, so that a number of said articles maybe uniformly arranged, although supplied to the carrier either end up.The rotating disk is mounted upon the end of an uprightshaftf10,provided at its lower end with a `f6 is mounted at the top of astandard A8,

-mounted on an extension A9 on the bracket A6, and the shaft]10 passesupward through said standard, which forms a bearing therefor.

To keep the shells agitated in the hopper, so that they will becontinually presented to the chute f2, a supplemental chute f20 isprovided, telescoping with the chute f2 and-having a reciprocatingmovement within the hopper, the said chute f2() being mounted in a guidej"21 in the upright which supports the hopper f3 and being connected bya rod]22 with the wrist-pin on the rotating disk e9 upon the shaft B.One or more arms f23 are preferably4 connected with the said ch ute fzo,thus having a reciprocating motion therewith Within the hopper.

`In order to prevent a shell not properly fed to the disk f4 or thecarriage e from catching and clogging the machine, gatesf16 are shown aspivotally supported at the ends of said chute, adapted to yield before ashell not fully discharged from the chute. These gates are best shown inFigs. 1l and 12 and are pivoted at f1? to thebody of the chute andprovided with springs fis, whereby they are normally maintained closed,the pivotal supports for the gates being so arranged, however, that thegates will open against the stress of their springs in the direction ofArotation of the shell-receiver below. Itis ob- IIO vious, therefore,that if a shell is caught by the carrier before it has fully come out ofthe chute the spring will yield, allowing the gate to open and the shellto pass out laterally. Both chutes, moreover, are provided withlongitudinal slots f2, through which a wire may be inserted to disengagea shell if one becomes caught or stuck.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The shells with which thehopper is supplied descend in a column through the chute]T2 and fallinto the recesses in the arranging device either end up, as the casemaybe. Each recess receives one of the shells, and as the arrangingdevice travels those shells which stand upon their open ends are engagedat the bottom and tipped on their sides, a's described, the open endthen being lifted in the further movement of the arranging device untilthe shell stands on its anged end. rlhe shells thus arranged then dropthrough the chutefand are engaged and pushed forward by the carrier to aposition over the line of gage-passages. The shell-support then movesdownward in conjunction with the feeler, each shell being arrested atthe proper position according to its size, and the several ejectingdevices operate as soon as the shell is disengaged by the feeler in theupward movement thereof, so that the shell then in the machine isejected into the proper chute.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific constructionshown and described, since such construction may obviously be modifiedwithout departing from the invention.

iVhat l claim isl. Inagaging-machinefor cartridge-shells, thecombination with a gage-passage adapted to admit articles of apredetermined size or smaller but to exclude articles of a larger size,of a succeeding passage or passages in alinement with said gage-passageeach smaller than and independent of the one preceding it, means forpositively moving an article toward said series of passages untilstopped by one of them, and ejecting devices for ejecting an articlestanding in any of the positions determined by the gage-passages,substantially as described.

2. The combination with a pair of gage-passages, of a supportlongitudinally movable therein, a feeler adapted to engage a shellstopped at the mouth of either passage, ejecting devices adapted tooperate on said shell when released by said feeler, and connectingmechanism whereby said parts are caused to cooperate, substantially asdescribed.

3. In engaging-machine for cartridge-shells, the combination with agage-passage,of a supportlongitudinally movable through said passage, afeeler movable with said support and adapted to engage a shell whichwill not pass through said passage, an ejecting device for said shelladapted to operate when the shell is disengaged by the said feeler, andconnecting mechanism whereby said parts are caused to cooperate,substantially as described.

4. The combination with the gage-passages and means for presenting ashell thereto, of the means for controlling the movement of the shellwith relation to said passages consisting of a supporting-pedestal forthe shell movable through said passages, and a feeler movable with saidpedestal to engage a shell which will not pass through said passages oreither of them, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a gage-passage, of a reciprocating carriageadapted to present a shell thereto, a pedestal to receive and support ashell thus presented, means for moving said pedestal to permit the shellsupported thereon to enter said passage, a feeler movable with saidpedestal to engage a shell which is too large to enter said passage, anda portion of the carriage adapted to yieldingly engage a shell duringthe movement of said carriage in the opposite direction, substantiallyas described.

6. The reciprocating carriage e provided with the jaws e2 and theejector-spring elo, combined with the gage-passage a, and the feeler d2,as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination with the different-sized gage-passages in alinementwith each other, of the reciprocating support adapted, when free, tomove through said passages away from the openings thereof to which ashell is presented, the feeler movable with said support, and means forpositively actuating said support toward said openings, substantially asdescribed.

8. The combination with a gage-passage and means for presenting a shellthereto, of a second gage-passage in line therewith, a support orpedestal movable through said passages, a feeler adapted to engage ashell stopped by either passage, a spring-operated ejecting device forshells stopped by the second passage adapted to be set by said pedestalin its movement in one direction, and means for maintaining it setduring the movement thereof in the opposite direction, substantially asdescribed.

9. The combination with a gage-passage and means for presenting a shellthereto, of a second gage-passage in line therewith, a support orpedestal movable through said passages, a feeler adapted to engage ashell stopped by either passage, a spring-operated ejecting device forshells stopped by the second passage adapted to be set by said pedestalin its movement in one direction, an engaging member adapted to maintainsaid ejector-set until engaged by a shell stopped by the passage andheld by the feeler, and means for disengaging said member after theshell is so held, substantially as described.

10. The combination with the gage-passage and the reciprocating carriagefor the shells, of the movable support and feeler, an ejecting devicecomprising a spring-actuated plun- IIO ger adapted to be set by saidmovable support, a retaining device for maintaining said plunger'set,and an operating-cam for said retaining device coperating with thereciprocating carriage,substantially as and forA carriage adapted toreceive a shell and pre-v sent it to a suitable gage-passage, of amovable support for the shell, a cam for positively moving said supportto a position Io receive a shell presented by the carriage, means foryieldingly producing the return .movement of said support, a feelermovable with said su pport, and actuating mechanism for said carriageand cam whereby the downward movement of the support and feeler takesplace su bstantially when the carriage is in position to present theshell to the gage-passage, substantially as described.

13. In a machine foroperating on cartridgeshells, the combination with afeed-chute adapted to receive said articles from a suitable hopper, of atraveling receiver for said articles; cams in the path of a shellcarried by said receiver for-overturning and righting said shell ifpresented to said receiver wrong end up while said shell is still in thereceiver,

and anopening in the path of the shells carried by the said receiver,through which opening said shells are fed to the machine, substantiallyas described.v A14. In amachine for operating on cartridgeshells, thecombi-nation with a feed -chute adapted to receive said articles from asuitable hopper, of a traveling receiver for said articles, a camadapted to engage the mouth of a shell traveling in said receiver anddraw it aside until the shell falls on its side Without leaving thereceiver; and means for righting said fallen shell. in the receiver,substantially as described. n

15. In a machine for operating on cartridgeshells, the combination witha feed -chute adapted to receive said articles from a suitable hopper,of a traveling receiver for said articles, a cam adapted to engage themouth of a shell traveling in saidreceiver and draw it aside until theshell falls on its side in the receiver; an inclined surface beyond saidcam adapted to engage the mouth end of a shell during the onwardmovement o f -the traveling receiver and lift said end until the shellstands on its iianged end in the receiver, and an opening in the path ofshells carried by the traveling receiver through which all of the shellsin the receiver are fed to themachine, substantially as described.

16. The combination with the chute f2, of the support'j"6 provided withan opening f7, the traveling receiver f 4 having recesses f5,

Athe cam f5, and the inclined surface fi adjacent to the said receiverand in the path of an article carried thereby, substantially as hereinshown and for the purpose described.

17. The combination with a feed chute adapted to contain acolumn ofshells end wise, witha support for the shells below said chute, meansfor moving said shells along the surface of said support, a cam in thepath of,

shells thus moved, arranged to engage the mouth of a shell but not theflanged end thereof and inclined to the direction of travel of theshell, whereby the mouth of the shell is drawn from under the center ofgravity to tip the shell upon its side, an inclined rightingsurface sopositioned with relation to the receiver as to be in the path of theshell thus tipped; and an opening in the said support yto which theshells are finally carried, substantially as described.

18. The combination with a feed chute adapted to contain a column ofshells endwise, of a traveling shell-receiver below said chute havingrecesses each adapted to receive and carry along a shell droppedtherefrom, a lateral opening in said chute of sufficient size to permita shell to pass out laterally in the direction of movement 'of thetraveling receiver, and a normally closed gate for said shells, thecombination with the feed-chute adapted to receive said articles from asuitable hopper, of a traveling receiver for said articles adapted toreceive the articles endwise from the feed-chute, a support for thearticles along which they are propelled by the receiver, and a camadapted to engage the end of an article as it is propelled yby saidreceiver and deiiect the same until the said article falls from its endupon its side, substantially as described.

20. In a machine for operating on cartridgeshells, a rotating feed-diskhaving radial recesses, means for presenting articles to said recesseseither end uppermost, a support for the articles along which theyarecarriedl by said disk, and ak cam stationary with relation to saiddisk and adapted to engage and deiiect one end of an article travelingalong the support but not the other whereby the arti- IOG IIO

cles will remain on endupon the support or originally presented,substantially as dey scribed.

2l. In a machine for operatin g on cartridgeshells or other articles theopposite ends of which differ in shape, the combination with a travelingcarrier adapted to receive one `of such articles in a substantiallyvertical position, 'of a support for said article below said carrier,and a cam formed on said support and so shaped and arranged as to engageand deiiect an article traveling along the support on one end but not anarticle traveling along the support on the other` end.

22. The combination with a disk having radially-arranged shell-receiving recesses; of means for feeding shells thereto either end up;and cams so arranged with relation to said disk as to coperate therewithin rearranging the shells after they have been fed thereto to secure auniform end arrangement thereof in said disk.

23. In a machine for operating on articles the longitudinal dimension ofwhich is greater than the lateral dimension, the combination with atraveling receiver adapted to receive one or more of such articlesvertically positioned, ofa support below the said receiver for saidarticle, a cam or deflecting surface so arranged with relation to saidreceiver as to engage an article propelled thereby at a point near oneend thereof, and means for substantially preventing a lateral movementof the other end of the article in the same direction While it isengaged by the cam, whereby said article is tipped from a vertical to ahorizontal position upon said support, substantially as described. f

24. In a machine for operating on articles the longitudinal dimension ofwhich is greater than the lateral dimension, the combination with atraveling receiver having laterallyopen recesses along its peripheryeach adapted to contain and forward one of such articles, of means fortipping said articles from a vertical to a horizontal position in thetravel of the receiver, and means for preventing the articles thustipped from escaping endwise from the recesses, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 4o name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL BUTLER. Vitnesses:

H. J. LIVERMORE, N. l. FORD.

